Settings

Does TLP conflict with my desktop environment’s power savings?

It depends, TLP:

  • Does not touch display or keyboard backlight brightness → no conflict.

  • Does not change suspend / hibernate settings → no conflict.

  • TLP’s power savings will not be applied during boot when using GNOME or KDE desktop environments that have power-profiles-daemon installed → severe conflict - see power-profiles-daemon.

  • Applies charge thresholds → conflict with KDE charge limit setting is possible.

  • Switches radio devices on and off when configured by the user → conflict with GNOME power settings or KDE energy saving settings possible.

  • Pop!_OS’s system76-power works on the same set of kernel tunables → severe conflict - do not use together with TLP.

  • Slimbook Battery uses TLP as backend and overwrites TLP’s configuration files → conflict - if you wish to configure TLP individually, you must first uninstall Slimbook Battery.

Note

“Conflict” refers to the situation where settings configured in TLP are overwritten by the desktop environment’s settings (and vice versa), resulting in unpredictable power savings.

How can I change TLP’s settings?

See Settings.

I uninstalled TLP — could it be that its configuration still works?

No. After uninstalling and rebooting, it’s as if it never happened. TLP only applies tuning while it is running. It does not make permanent changes to your system or hardware.

However, there may be one exception, refer to How to remove the charge thresholds?

Does upgrading TLP overwrite my settings?

No. Package managers take care not to replace a user edited configuration file without explicit user confirmation and create a backup copy too.

How do I transfer my settings when upgrading from version 1.2.2 (and older) to 1.3 (and newer)?

Read about the config files first to learn about the current configuration scheme (introduced in version 1.3).

There are three migration paths:

1. 1:1 Takeover

The format of the configuration file has not changed, only the location. Save the pristine /etc/tlp.conf and copy /etc/default/tlp to /etc/tlp.conf.

Debian and Ubuntu only: if /etc/default/tlp was ever edited by you, upgrading to version 1.3 or newer moves it to /etc/tlp.conf automatically. The pristine tlp.conf ends up in /etc/tlp.conf.dpkg-new.

2. Start from Scratch with /etc/tlp.conf

Just enter your specific settings into /etc/tlp.conf. Other than with version 1.2.2 and older all parameters in /etc/tlp.conf are disabled, you have to remove the comment character # in the first column for parameters you want to change.

Note

Debian and Ubuntu only: move /etc/tlp.conf.dpkg-new to /etc/tlp.conf if necessary (see above).

3. Start over with a new File below /etc/tlp.d/

Create a new file 01-mytlp.conf copying 00-template.conf, then enter your specific settings only. The exact file name does not matter as long as it ends in .conf. You may as well split your settings into several files.

Note

Debian and Ubuntu only: remember to move the pristine /etc/tlp.conf.dpkg-new to /etc/tlp.conf if necessary (see above).